Bottle capping device



July 8, 1958 A. MARCEAU BOTTLE CAPPING DEVICE Filed Jan, 30, 1957 INVENTQR. WW BY w W Arrwen/e/ United States Patent BOTTLE CAPPIN G DEVICE Albert Marceau, Garden City, Mich.

Application January 30, 1957, Serial No. 637,191

3 Claims. (Cl. 53-310) My invention pertains to a device for use in restaurants, cafeterias, and similar establishments in which beverages, such as coffee or tea, are dispensed in bottles in the course of what is known as carry-out service. The bottles used in this trade are small milk bottles which, when filled with a beverage, have to be capped by means of the conventional disk-type cardboard closures. Because the beverages are often scalding hot at the time of being poured into the bottles and also because of sanitary reasons, such capping is done mechanically. While special machines have already been devised for this purpose, the device designed by me has certain advantages over those already known in the art.

The device designed by me is portable and compact.

It may be placed on any suitable support, such as a counter or table, and removed readily when not needed. What is more important is that the device is self-adjusting to the height of the respective bottles to be used. The bottles may be of different sizes and if the differences in vertical dimensions of the respective bottles are not too excessive, the device will work equally well on all of them. However, in general, the device may be built so as to be adapted to be used with bottles of any height.

This self-adjusting feature of the device is due to its novel structure Which includes a magazine with disk caps and a plunger for application of the caps to the bottles, both being mounted on the same platform. The platform itself is disposed in a yielding position with respect to a base on which a bottle to be capped is placed. In addition, the device includes novel means of feeding individual caps towards the plunger.

I shall now describe my device with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the device with parts shown in side elevation, the view including a bottle in a position to be capped;

Fig. 2 is also a sectional vertical view of the device as shown in Fig. 1 but with parts in different operative positions;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55' of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The device includes a base and a vertical tubular stand 11 mounted thereon, the stand being open at the top and being provided at its upper portion with a vertical slot 12. Axially fitting into the stand for a sliding vertical movement therein is a tubular column 13 which at the top supports a horizontal platform generally identified by numeral 14, the platform being preferably welded to the top of the column as shown at 15. A coiled spring 16, located in part within the stand and in part within the column, holds the platform in a yielding, spaced relation to the top 16a of said stand 11.

The platform is composed of two plates, a, lower one 17 and an upper one 18, the two plates being held together by means of screws 19. The lower plate 17 is provided with a recessed slideway 20, and disposed therein is a movable push bar 21 which at one end extends normally close to what is the rear of the platform, as shown in Fig.

1. It is at this end that the bar 21 is provided with an aperture 22 to which I shall refer again. i

The upper plate 18 contains a circular aperture 23, and threaded into it is the lower end of a cylindrical magazine or hopper 24 which is open at its lower end to the full diameter of its inner space and which is adaptedto contain a stack of individual caps 25. These are of the cardboard type, each being adapted to fit into the mouth of a conventional milk bottle, such as bottle 26 shown on base 10. At the top the magazine is fitted out with a removable cover 27.

At one end of the platform, which end will be designated as its front end, the upper plate 18 contains a circular aperture 28 of a diameter slightly exceeding that of the individual cap 25, while the lower plate 17 is provided with an alined circular aperture 29 of a diameter large enough to fit over the marginal lip 30 of the bottle 26. An internal shoulder 31 in said aperture 29 is intended to bear against the top of the lip on contact with the upper end of the bottle.

Mounted above the aperture 28 is a housing 32 containing a plunger which includes a rod 33 disposed in a vertical bore 35, the rod terminating at the lower end with a head 34. The upper end of said rod fits axially into a handle 36 which at the top is formed into a knob 37. A spring 38 coiled about the rod bears at its lower end against an internal shoulder 39 within said bore 35, while the upper end of the spring bears against the handle 36 and serves to hold the head 34 above said aperture 28.

Extending radially from the outer surface of the stand 11 is a bracket 40, and pivotally connected thereto is one end of a link 41 which at the other end is pivotally connected to a lever 42. The opposite end of the lever is tapered to a slender finger 43 which fits into the abovesaid aperture 22 in the slide bar 21, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Midway its length the lever is fulcrumed within a forked end 44 of a radial arm 45 which projects from the wall of the column 13 through the slot 12 in the wall of the stand 11. To permit movement of the upper end 43 of the lever with the slide bar, the upper plate 18 in said platform 14 is provided with a slot 46, while the lower plate 17 contains an alined slot 47, both slots extending from the rear end of the platform towards the magazine 24.

I shall now describe the operation of my said device:

The platform 14 is spaced from the base 10 so as to leave enough room for placement of a bottle 26 on said base under the aperture 29. For the purpose of centering the bottle, the base may have a slight depression 10a. Obviously enough, prior to the operation of the device the magazine 24 has to be filled with caps 25, the caps to be disposed in a stack in which they are laid parallel, horizontally, one upon another, as shown in the drawings.

Now, after the bottle containing a beverage has been placed on the base in said depression 10a, pressure will be applied manually against the top of handle 36. This will serve to lower the whole platform from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 2 when the top of the bottle 26 will fit into said aperture 29 on the lower plate 17 of the platform. In this connection it may be stated that the tension of the coiled spring 38 of the plunger is higher than that of the coiled spring 16 within the stand 11. Thus, the initial pressure upon the top of the handle 36 will lower the platform without causing an appreciable downward movement of the plunger with respect to aperture 28 in said platform.

As the platform is mounted upon the vertically-sliding column 13, the downward movement of the column will cause the lever 42 to swing inwardly, that is, towards said column. This, in turn, will cause the finger 43 -of the lever 42 to push the slide bar 21 towards the magazine 24 within the slideway 249 which extends in under said magazine. 'The slide bar, in the course of its movement, will encounter'the lowest cap 25 in the stack of caps in said magazine and will force it out of the stack into the aperture 28 in said-platform into the path of theplunger. At this point continuation of pressure from above'upon said handle after the movement of theplatform has-been stopped by contact of the platform with the bottle will force-the plunger downwardly, causing itshead. 34 to push the cap'2'5'into the mouth of the bottle.

'On release of the knob, the plunger will be immediately disengaged from the bottle by action of saidspring 38, the platform will rise upwardly under the action of spring 16, and the slide bar 21 will be shifted rearwardly by said lever 42 which will be swung back to the'position shown in Fig. 1 by the upward'movernent of the column 13. A new cap 25 will take the place 'of the displaced cap where it will be in a position to be shifted towards the plunger in the manner described above.

'It will be understood that some changes may be made in the structure shown by me without departing beyond the scope of the invention described herein.

What I, therefore, wish to claim is as follows:

1. In a bottle capping device, a horizontal base, a hollow vertical stand thereon, a coiled spring within the stand, a vertically slidable column disposed telescopically within the stand and kept by the spring in a. yieldable relation to the base, a platform mounted upon the column, the platform being provided at one end with an aperture, a housing above the aperture, a plunger disposed therein for -a vertical reciprocal movement with respect to said aperture, a vertical magazine mounted on the platform parallel to said housing, a plurality of disk-type closures for bottles disposed in a stack in said magazine, means toshift the individual closures from the magazine'over the aperture and into the path of the movement of the plunger on its way downwardly, handle means on the plunger, the means being'adapted to move the platform down withthe plunger and the magazine and to thrust the plunger from above against a single closure disposed within said aperture.

2. In a bottle capping device, a horizontal base, a hollow 'vertical stand thereon, a coiled spring within the stand, a vertically slidable column disposed telescopically within the stand and kept by the spring in a yieldable relation to the base, a platform mounted upon the column, the platform being provided at one end with an aperture, a housing above the aperture, a plunger disposed therein for a vertical reciprocal movement with respect to said aperture, a vertical magazine mounted on the platform parallel to said housing, a plurality of disk-type closures for bottles disposed in a stack in said magazine, the platform being provided with a slideway leading to the magazine, a sliding bar in'the slideway, a lever at one end connected by intermediate means to the column and having the other end in engagement with said slide bar, the lever being adapted, on the movement of the column downwardly, to shift the slidebar towards the housing and to push out therefrom a singleicap into the said-aperture.

'3. In a bottle capping device, a base including a space for the placement of a bottle to be capped, a vertical stand on said base, a column in a telescoping relation with the stand, a platform upon the column, spring means for a yielding support'of the platform with respect to the'base, amagazine with individual closures on the platform, a plunger also mounted on the platform for application of the closures to individual bottles, the platform being provided with a slideway extending into the space beneath said magazine, a horizontal sliding bar in said slideway, a radial arm extending from the stand, a lever'fulcrumed midway its length upon said arm for movement in a vertical plane, the upper end of the lever being-in engagement with the slide bar while the lower end of the lever ispivotally connected by intermediate means to a stationary member, the lever being adapted, on the downward movement of the column, to push the slide bar into the magazine to force out a closure towards the plunger for insertion into the mouth of a bottle.

Maw Aug. 11, 1925 

